this is of a scan taken last sunday; the white ball thing at the the lower left hand side is a magnetic thing that the doctor asked me to place on my shin right where i felt the msot pain. As can be seen from the scan, i was pretty much right on the button, as underneath it you can see the faint line that denotes the hairline fracture to my tibial bone. I've got one in the other shin, too.

I first thought it was shin splints when the pain started a few months ago and carried on training despite the pain, until it got stupildy bad to the poin that putting my feet on the floor when getting out of bed in the morning was jarring them and causing pain (yes, i am teh stoopid m.f. i know);

anyway, symptoms, if anyone is curious: very similar to shin splints and often confused with them,

characterised by a pain in the lower shin area (or wherever...), there will be tenderness on an area of the lower leg and usually a very narrow spot of sharp pain that can be located using the fingertip with medium/deep pressure. That sharp spot is the location of the fracture.

differentiating from shin splints - gets worse with continued exertion, not better. shin splints often recede after the muscle 'warms up'.

also, night pain is apparently a very common complaint. I had this for about a week, i was waking up with my legs throbbing. not pleasant. Also, are often located on the very inside of the lower tibia, where there is little muscle for a shin splint to develop.

remedy - according to the doc complete rest.

timeline - ???? "could be six weeks, could be six months".

cause - for me, apparently, mongy feet. more specifically, excessive foot pronation (thats improper weight distribution, to you and me). i tend to wear the heels down on the outside of my shoes, indicating my feet are not properly balanced. thsi has a knock-on effect on the lower limb's load-bearing and shock-absorbing qualities.

with me, i think the fractures have been brought on by skipping and running, as these were when the pain was most apparent. i've refrained from either for over amonth now, but 've still got that 'sore spot' on the lower shin.

oh, and apprently anti-inflammatories INHIBIT bone re-growth and so do not aid recovery from thsi type of injury.

Anyone else ever had similar? or know about it? would welcome some advice. Only from people who really know what they are talking about though, no guesswork please.

oh, and would grappling do it serious harm? the trainee osteo at our gym thinks light grappling should be ok;

I just saw your post while searching the internet for info regarding shin splints and muay thai. I'm scheduled to have my first muay thai smoker in a couple weeks and my lower right shin is killing me, almost identically to how you describe it. I'm worried now because I don't have health insurance and probably can't afford an x-ray here in the US without one.

^ pm me your email address and i will send you a whole load of them (well, 4 to be precise).

if you have got that "sharp spot", that one little point that hurts when you give it some pressure with your fingertip, you probably have a stress fracture.

also, if the pain/point is located slightly off centre to the inside of the leg, that is another key indicator as there is **** all muscle there for you to get a splint in.

if you suspect a stress fracture DO NOT FIGHT. seriously, i am the world's worst for thinking "**** it, i will be alright, i will just do this and then i will rest", but the physio told me that a couple of solid repeated impacts right on the spot (ie shin blocks, or you getting your kick blocked - even worse imo) could either do some damage and set you back even more months, or really **** your **** up and split your shin wide open. its not worth it for an amateur bout. get your **** sorted.

i've done no thai since march 5th, although i have been grappling; my right leg is still sore to the touch, possibly less so than before, and i will be going to the fracture clinic next work for more attention. this **** takes time to heal up apparently. its doing my head in, but what can you do?

However, I don't know if non-supporting members can create a photo album directly. If you can't, email the pictures to me (tkagan@fabkom.com) and I'll create an album of your 4 pics and link them here.

And I agree 100% about stopping all kick training until the stress fracture heals. Otherwise, it could end up as bad as this:

"Your calm and professional manner of response is really draining all the fun out of this. Can you reply more like Dr. Fagbot or something? Call me some names, mention some sand in my vagina or something of the sort. You can't expect me to come up with reasonable arguments man!" -- MaverickZ

my email is tbolish@gmail.com. I'd really appreciate them. I've been calling around all day trying to find a place that isn't insanenly expensive to take an x-ray and get a consoltation.

Man, medical expenses in the US are pretty highway robbery if you ask me. If you can't afford health insurance, your pretty much fucked. Bunch of BS if you ask me. Sorry about that rant...just incredibly frustrating.

Thanks for the quick replies fellas, I'll let you know if I find out whats up with my leg.
Cheers,
Tim

tell me about it, its a fucking nuisance, but theres nowt you can do about it. as of last week, bjj is also off the menu coz i was rolling with a guy who weighs 200lbs ish and he knelt on the fracture site when passing my guard.

well, that fucking hurt, let me tell you.

its now gone worse than it was, although not as bad as at first. so for the next 4-6 weeks, i am doing **** all but rowing, exercise bike and lifting weights. although no squats etc. sucks bottom, but it has to be done.